Avian humanoids (people with the characteristics of birds) are a common motif in folklore and popular fiction, mainly found in Greek, Roman, Meitei, Hindu, Persian mythology, etc.
Folklore
Vishnu riding GarudaA winged human-headed Apkallu holding a bucket and a pine cone. From Nimrud, Iraq. 883-859 BCE. Ancient Orient Museum, Istanbul
Alkonost from Russian mythology, a bird with a woman's head.
Almost all of the Anemoi (Boreas, Eurus, Zephyrus, Notus, etc.), most prominently in their depiction on the Tower of the Winds.
Angels in all Abrahamic religions, most prominently in artistic depictions.
Geryon, a giant defeated by Hercules who, in one account, was described as having wings.[10][11] In addition, some mid-sixth-century Chalcidian vases portray him as winged.
Harpies, bird-women in Greek mythology associated with storm winds and known for terrorizing mortals.[12][13]
Iris (mythology) was said to have golden wings,[16][17] with "golden-winged" being one of her epithets, and was often depicted in art as having wings.[18]
Isis and her sister Nephthys were ancient Egyptian goddesses commonly depicted with kite (bird) heads or wings attached to their arms.[19][20]
The Kinnara and Kinnari in southeast Asia are two of the most beloved mythological characters. They are benevolent half-human, half-bird creatures who watch over humanity.
The Tengu of Japanese folklore, monstrous humanoids who dwell in the mountains and forests and possess the wings, claws, and sometimes beak of a bird.[35]
Thanatos and his brother Hypnos were often portrayed as winged.[36]
Thoth was portrayed as having the head and sometimes the body of an Ibis.[37]
A race of magical creatures called Veela appear in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, and are extraordinarily beautiful women who become frightening bird-like creatures when angered.
Vergere in The New Jedi Order book series, part of the Star Wars expanded universe, is of the Fosh species, whose tears can be used as poison or healing.
The Rito from The Legend of Zelda are a race of avian humanoids with the ability of flight. In The Wind Waker, they are primarily humanoid and depicted as an evolved form of the Zora. In Breath of the Wild, they are depicted as more bird-like and lack connection to the Zora.
The Tirkin from the Xenoblade Chronicles series, a type of enemy who are capable of speech and using tools.
The High Entia from the Xenoblade Chronicles series, a humanoid race with wings on the sides of their heads. Some can use these wings to fly; however, hybrid High Entia such as Melia, who is half-Homs, have smaller wings.
The Shi'ar from Marvel Comics, a species of cold-blooded humanoids of avian descent; they resemble humans with feathered crests atop their heads in lieu of hair.
Birdperson, a character from the television series Rick and Morty, is a tall humanoid with eagle wings who is later renamed "Phoenixperson."
Prince Vultan's hawkmen from the 1980 space opera film Flash Gordon.
Arakkoas from the World of Warcraft expansions (first appearing in WoW: Burning Crusade), a race of bird humanoids with avian features.
The Garuda from 'NanoMorphosis' by Marla L. Anderson, an alien race who are bird-like but lack wings.
Skellig,[citation needed] the titular character in David Almond's work
Action Figures
The Gothitropolitans form Gothitropolis and the Eathyrons of Eathyron, are Action figure lines of Mythic Legion Series line made by The Fourth Horsemen.
^Ptolemy Hephaestion, New History Book 6 (summary from Photius, Myriobiblon 190) (trans. Pearse)
^Allen, James W. (2000). Middle Egyptian: An Introduction to the Language and Culture of Hieroglyphs. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-77483-3.
^Apollonius, Rhodius (February 1, 1997). The Argonautica – via Project Gutenberg.
^"A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Ea'rinus, Fla'vius, E'ntochus, Eos". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
^Robert E. Buswell Jr.; Donald S. Lopez Jr. (2013). The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press. pp. 314–315. ISBN 978-1-4008-4805-8.
^Roshen Dalal (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
^Helmuth von Glasenapp (1999). Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 532. ISBN 978-81-208-1376-2.
^Scholiast on Hesiod's Theogony, referring to Stesichoros' Geryoneis
^"GERYON (Geryones) - Three-Bodied Giant of Greek Mythology". www.theoi.com.
^"A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Iacchus, Irenaeus, Iris". www.perseus.tufts.edu.
^Wilkinson, Richard H. (2003). The Complete Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson. ISBN 978-0-500-05120-7.
^Griffiths, J. Gwyn (1980). The Origins of Osiris and His Cult. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-06096-8.
^Tapsell, Paora (1 March 2017). "Story: Te Arawa – Hatupatu and Kurangaituku". Te Ara – The Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
^"China: 'Master Thunder (Lei Gong)', a Ming Dynasty hanging silk scroll from 1542, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York". AKG Images. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
^S. A. Barrett (1919-03-27). "Myths of the Southern Sierra Miwok". University of California Publications in American Archeology and Ethnology. 16 (1): 1–28.
^Jean-François, 1790-1832, Champollion (July 1, 2014). "English: Panthéon égyptien, collection des personnages mythologiques de l'ancienne Égypte, d'apres les monuments; / avec un texte explicatif par M. J. F. Champollion le jeune, et les figures d'apres les dessins de M. L. J. J. Dubois" – via Wikimedia Commons.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
^Ashliman, D. L. (2008). "Swan Maidens | Folktales of Type 400". Retrieved 5 October 2018. The myth of the Swan Maiden is one of the most widely distributed and at the same time one of the most beautiful stories ever evolved from the mind of man.--Edwin Sidney Hartland
^Routledge, Scoresby, Mrs; Routledge, Katherine (1917). "The Bird Cult of Easter Island". Folklore. 28 (4): 337–355. doi:10.1080/0015587X.1917.9719006. JSTOR 1255484. An "iviatua," a divinely-gifted individual, dreamed that a certain man was favoured by the gods, so that if he entered for the race he would be a winner, or, in technical parlance, become a bird-man or " tangata manu"; it was also ordained that he should then take a new name, which formed part of the revelation, and this bird-name was given to the year in which victory was achieved, thus forming an easily remembered system of chronology.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^"The Official Metroid Website". metroid.nintendo.com.
^Hudson, Casey; Watts, Derek (February 2, 2012). The Art of the Mass Effect Universe. Dark Horse Comics. ISBN 978-1-59582-768-5.
^Paltock, R.; Bullen, A.H. (1884). The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins. The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins. Reeves & Turner. p. xvi and passim. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
^"Perdido Street Station By China Miéville". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 5 October 2018.
External links
Cathy S. Mosley. ""The Princess of the Bird People" a retelling of "Manora, the Bird Woman," from Thailand". H-NILAS: Stories for the Seasons. Retrieved October 31, 2005. — This cites Toth, Marian Davis (1971). Tales From Thailand. Tokyo: Charles E. Tuttle..
Zerah'el Dancing Grouse. "The Story of the Bird People". Free Cherokee. Archived from the original on February 23, 2006. Retrieved October 31, 2005. — a story from a story teller of the Bird Clan of East Central Alabama that parallels the evolution of birds from dinosaurs